Grinding apparatus



Oct. 5, 1943. H. s. HARRIES GRINDING APPARATUS Filed May 20, 1940 5 Sheets-Sheet l Tn M v NR INVENTOR f/fime'v 6- Haze/es m,mrm'

ATTORNEY5 H. G. HARRIES GRINDING APPARATUS Oct; 5, 1943.

.3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 20, 1940 INVENTOR HHZEY 6- HHee/fi BY MM M40444 A'f'ToRNEYs H. GQHARRIES enmnme- APPARATUS Filed May 20, 1 94o 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Oct. 5, 1943 5 Claims.

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mon yed means for dist bn in i ta n senator p h a. and a i gi wheel surfa r In Yeti mea soi pre-deliyerineh xa n .i

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bike parts areidentified by! the same-mefenence characters throughoutthe;sevenalwiews.

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Wm, filpg e fi la 3.1 is lsqmm itefi ens i ummgen lation to fan 30 and the other ,en gi sgoseg in flush relati ntoian ann a qpllarlbetw eenz he QO UQHSJ F and: 8 andl ilsminll ti weletion to one side of, a rinder ewh elw zi h ahis mounted, to irotataz'in i-v rtioa lgizie 0; M a portion 18: Aaqupyshapefl av -items iai nrwme with serrated. side Walls, 11s -.moun-tedz adjacent wheel. 3:2 on portionlfiz A-llz f he m untmlm ee ments set. for h are c1ampesi;;toe:tl1 na ains the shQulders ofishafi 5; to rota e, ztherewitht- 1A nut :35: \azloioh is :inotlgreadedt engagementiimith section 2:8: holds the assembled-g1 parts ,-in-.-c.1 mpe.d relationship. V i 1 A housing .end portion 352.01: motormZflifindaa portioniof blowerahousingfiJ-zhaye complementary studsz31; Housing.s22:=isrprovidedmwithen 3.1111112" lar shoulder; 38 s whichis clampingly engaged; by studs .3v9sto complementary. :portions; of housin 21. Housings 22 and: 23, are separatedzin'to an intake chamber 43 and a grinder chamber 4| by a feed delivery plate 50 which is provided with circumferentially spaced apertures 5|, preferably four in number, and a centrally disposed aperture 52 as disclosed in Fig. 2. A plate 51 is secured to an annular shoulder 56 of housing 2| to divide the housing into a grinder wheel chamber 42 and a blower fan chamber 43. Plate 51 is provided with a centrally disposed aperture or eye 45.

Housing 22 comprises a generally cylindrical body having an end 39!! adjacent the grinding wheel, radially flanged as mentioned to provide a. partial end closure for the grinder wheel chamber 42. An integral spider-like structure 4600mprising a hub portion 41 and radially disposed spokes 48 is positioned vertically within housing 22 adjacent the grinding wheel 32. The portion of the flanged wallof housing 2| directly adjacent the grinding wheel 32 is provided preferably with a multiple of annular grooves as indid cated by reference numeral 55, but, if preferred, only one annular groove 56, Fig. 5, may be employed. Spokes 48 have an under-cut wall adjacent the grinding wheel 32 to provide elongated channels 58 therebetween in which grain is lodged or'wedged during the grinding operation.

Adjustment of grinder wheel 32 with respect to spider 46 and also in respect to the annular ribbed portion 55 of Wall 39'is provided through axial movement of the armature shaft 25 and wheel 32 by means of a ball-bearing adjustment element 60 provided at the opposite end of the shaft as shown in Fig. 1. A bearing 6| is fixed to the shaft terminus and is mounted for axial movement in respect to the motor housing in an 7 extended portion 62 of the motor housing, as shown. A shaft adjusting plug 63 'is inscrew threaded relation to the housing portion'62 to maintain the bearing 6| against a helical spring 64, said spring being partially compressed to bias the bearing 6| against plug 63 whereby, upon threaded adjustment of the plug, to permit axial adjustment of the shaft in either direction.

In grinding apparatus having a vertically positioned wheel, there exists a problem of evenly distributing the material to be ground to the grinding surface of the wheel. There is a tendency for grain to concentrate'about the lower portion of the grinding wheel and also for the grain to be packed about the'inner wall of the grinding chamber wall in such a manner thatit cannot be evenly fed to the grinding wheel. I have successfully solved these problems by provision of agitator 33, spider 46, and the feed plate 50, between which there exists a correlation hereinafter described.

During operation of the device, grain from hopper l enters intake chamber 40 through inlet pipe |8, where a supply builds up, a certain amount being constantly drawn into chamber 4| through the centrally disposed aperture 52. The agitator 33 which is adapted to rotate at a high speed acts as a suction pump to draw a steady stream of grain through aperture 52 and to agitate constantly the grain which is drawn into chamber 4| whereby to prevent packing of the grain within'this chamber. The circumferentially spaced apertures are not inlet apertures through which grain enters chamber, their function being to provide means for th relief of pressure build-up within said chamber to insure proper distribution of the grain in respect to spider 46 and grinding wheel32 and to relieve a grain concentration at the outer portions of the chamber due to the rotation of the agitator and grinder wheel. Grain delivery from chamber 40 through aperture 52 is assisted by a partial vacuum which is maintained within the center of the cup-shaped agitator 33 by reason of the high speed rotation thereof.

As heretofore mentioned, spokes 48 are undercut adjacent wheel 32 to provide elongated channels 58. These channels or recesses are of less depth than the average thickness of the kernels of grain, there being just enough clearance or entryway for the grain to become lodged between the spokes and the grinding wheel 32.. While being so lodged, the kernels of grain are ground fine enough to pass between the spokes and the wheel and when the centrifugal force acts upon them they are thrown outwardly, the rotary movement of wheel 32 carrying them from one spoke to the next spoke until they are ultimately ground fine enough to pass between the ribbed surface 55 of wall 39 and the grinding wheel to enter chamber 42, this transfer being accomplished by centrifugal force and suction as here inafter described. The transfer from chamber 4| to chamber 42 takes place in a helical rather than in a radial path because the particles passing into the first annular groove willordinarily travel circumferentially through this groove before centrifugal force-directs them outwardly into the next groove where the movement described will be repeated.

As mentioned above, a single annular groove 56 may be provided instead of plural grooves as shown at 55. Repeated experiments have taught me that the device as described becomes substantially inoperative in a short period oftime if at least. one annular groove is not provided adjacent the grinding wheel surface. This is due to the fact that the ground material soon cakes or is packed onto the surface of flange 39 at this point, thus prohibiting free movement of the ground particles from chamber 4| to chamber 42.

-.It"is especially desirable to eliminate caking of the material at this point because it slows down the grinding wheel, reduces the effective grinding area, blocks the passage of ground product from chamber 4| to chamber 42, and causes undue heating of the grain. There are several theories which might be advanced to explain why packing does not occur when the surface is grooved, but regardless of which theory is considered the more logical, I present the described structure as the only method known to me whereby to successfully overcome this undesirable condition.

The ground product from within chamber 42 is drawn through a centrifugally disposed eye 45 in plate 51 by suction created by the turbine type fan 30. As best shown in Fig. 3, fan 30 carries turbine type blades 10 which are preferably arced as shown. Air is drawn into chamber 43 through a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertures 1| whereby to entrain the incoming ground product. The ground product is, therefore, drawn across and away from the peripheral grinding area of the grinding wheel 32 and, entrained with the air in chamber 43 is passed out through outlet M for passage to separator l3 illustrated in Figure 4.

It will be noted that both ground and unground grain is thrown outwardly by centrifugal force imparted thereto by the grinding wheel as well as by the agitator. Only the ground product escapes between the wheel 32 and th channeled flange 390 and into chamber 42. I have found that when centrifugal forcealone is relied upon to effect delivery of the ground product between the chambers that the rate of such transfer is relatively slow and that a periodic choking up is apt to result. But in the disclosed apparatus, suction from fan 30 is employed as an aid to greatly speed up this transfer and to eliminate choking up. This suction also aids in the feeding of unground grain to the wheel. The fan produces an even pull or draft across the surface of the wheel adjacent the spider to drain out the ground product from the unground grain.

I claim:

1. In a grinding mill, the combination with an inlet chamber adapted to receive grain by gravity feed from an elevated source of supply, a second chamber partially separated from the inlet chamber by a partition having plural apertures, means for drawing grain through one aperture and returning excess portions through other apertures back to the inlet chamber, a grinding wheel at the side of the chamber opposite said partition, radially extending stationary arms in close proximity to the Wheel to provide recesses intermediate the wheel in which grain may be abraded by said wheel, a ribbed Wall in close parallel proximity to outer portions of said grinding wheel, and a centrifugal fan positioned with its intake surrounding said outer portions of the wheel to draw ground material past the ribbed wall and propel it to a point of delivery.

2. In a grinder, the combination with a receiving chamber, a grinding chamber partially separated from the receiving chamber by a partition having plural apertures, means for drawing grain through one of the apertures and returning excess portions to the other, a grinding wheel having a side surface vertically disposed at the side of the grinding chamber opposite the partition, stationary and. radially extending arms spaced from the wheel to provide a channel between one surface thereof and the wheel surface wherein grain may be abraded, an annular ribbed grading wall opposing the grinding wheel adjacent its periphery and a centrifugal fan positioned and provided with an intake encompassing said wheel periphery to draw the graded material past the grinding Wall and propel it to a point of 5 delivery;

3. A device as set forth in claim 2 wherein the means for drawing grain comprises a cup-shaped agitator mounted within the grinding chamber concentric with the grinding Wheel and adapted to rotate therewith, said agitator having serrated wall portions to distribute indrawn grain to all portions of the grinding chamber.

4.A device as set forth in claim 2 in which one of said plural apertures of the partition is centrally disposed, the remaining apertures being spaced therefrom in annularly disposed relation, and the means for drawing grain through the apertures comprises an agitator mounted within said grinding chamber and connected with the grinding wheel and in concentric relation to said centrally disposed aperture, said agitator comprising a cup-like portion opening toward said aperture and having serrated side walls, whereby during operation of the device the agitator acts as a pump into which grain from the receiving portion is drawn through the central aperture to be centrifugally passed through the serrated Walls to be distributed throughout the grinding chamher.

5. In a mill having two chambers and a grinding wheel therebetween, a stationary set of spokes adjacent said wheel whereby to grind .grain in one of the chambers and said wheel being positioned to provide a restricted passage between the chambers to prevent unground grain from passing therebetween, means within the passage for further grinding of the product as it passes therethrough, and suction means within the other chamber to aid in the operation of the device.

HARRY G. HARRIES. 

